Olympus E-3 Review

Four years is a very long time in the digital camera market, and four years in the digital SLR market is virtually a lifetime. In the four-odd years between the launch of the Olympus E-1 - the camera that heralded the first all-new SLR system for over a decade - and its successor the E-3, the DSLR landscape has changed beyond recognition, with prices dropping and capabilities soaring. The world moved on whilst the Olympus professional system stood still, looking more and more irrelevant and less and less like a serious contender to the long-standing Canon/Nikon duopoly in the pro market.

Of course the Olympus range itself wasn't standing still, and after a few false starts (mainly caused by the almost suicidal tendency for Olympus industrial designers to produce cameras that didn't look like cameras) and some flashes of inspired innovation (bringing live view, kicking and screaming, to the SLR market, for example) the E-series started to be taken a lot more seriously.

But whilst Olympus fans' spirits were buoyed by the introduction of well-reviewed and popular models such as the E-500 and the current E-410/E-510 duo, the lack of a high end model to replace the ageing E-1 - or anything in the E-series range to compete with high end 'semi pro' models like the Nikon D200 - was the cause of great concern. It's all very well having superb glass (and few would disagree that Olympus produces some of the best lenses on the market today) if there isn't a similarly well-specified camera to put behind it.

And so the E-3, the long-awaited successor to the E-1, has finally arrived. To say that it carries a heavy weight of expectation on its broad shoulders is putting it lightly; this is the camera that will decide for once and for all whether Olympus has what it takes to crack the Nikon/Canon stronghold, or is to remain forever a niche player in the professional market.

Compared to E-1 - key differences

It almost seems pointless to talk about how the E-3 compares to its predecessor; the time gap between them is so great that they have very little in common; the E-3 is a totally new camera that has obviously been designed to go head-to-head with the likes of Nikon's D300 and Canon's 40D at the very top of the market, at the point where the distinctions between 'high end enthusiast', 'semi professional' and 'professional' get very blurred. Before we return the E-1 to the museum of digital antiquities for good let's have a (brief) look at what's changed - and what hasn't - in the in intervening years.

Key feature comparison (vs E-1 and E-510)

Looking at the spec comparison between the E-1 and the E-3 i decided it would be sensible to also throw the E-3's 'baby brother', the E-510, into the mix. There will surely be current E-510 owners (or owners of the E-510's predecessors) considering a move up to the E-3, so what can they expect to get? To be honest the main differences are physical; the E-3 is a considerably heavier, larger and more solid camera with weatherproof sealing and an articulated screen, with a better viewfinder and the option to add a vertical grip for considerably improved handling in portrait operation.

Under the hood the main differences are in the autofocus (which has more focus points and should be a lot quicker), continuous shooting speed, and the sensor (which has a similar spec but is claimed to offer superior results - we'll find out how much better later). So let's have a look in more detail at the differences between the E-3, its predecessor the E-1 and its baby brother the E-510 (apologies if this list isn't exhaustive, but it should give you an idea of where the key differences lie):